Armed Forces (Emergency Duties) Act, 1947

This 1947 Act allows the government to impose emergency duties on Pakistan's Armed Forces personnel in connection with services considered vital to the community during an emergency, such as maintaining essential services.

Section 2 gives the Federal Government power to declare, by official notification, that a specified service is one of vital importance to the community. Such a declaration initially lasts one month but can be extended repeatedly through further notifications of the same kind.

Once such a declaration is made and until it is withdrawn, every person subject to the Pakistan Army Act 1952, the Pakistan Air Force Act 1953, or the Pakistan Navy Ordinance 1961 must obey any command from a superior officer relating to employment on or connected with the declared service -- and such a command is treated as a lawful command for all purposes under those Acts and that Ordinance.

Section 3, which originally validated certain past commands, has since been repealed.

This is an old statute (1947) whose service-branch references were updated over time by later amendments (reflecting the later-enacted Pakistan Army Act, Air Force Act, and Navy Ordinance), so it should be read as currently applying to all three modern armed services as the extract's substituted text indicates.